EJA Announces Brian Lewinstein Youth Justice Fellowship

EJA and the EBCLC Honor Brian Lewinstein's Legacy

October 22, 2018

Equal Justice America and the East Bay Community Law Center have announced the creation of a permanent Brian Lewinstein chair at the EBCLC. Brian, a UC Berkeley law student and EJA Fellow at the EBCLC, lost his life in August in a tragic accident.

“Every two years, we will offer a two-year EJA Fellowship to a graduating Berkeley law student to work full-time serving and empowering young people at risk of entering the juvenile justice system.” said Dan Ruben, EJA’s Executive Director. “Beginning next September, we will always have a Berkeley law graduate working full-time in Brian’s name on the issues he most cared about.”

In applying for his EJA Fellowship, Brian wrote that the most formative experience leading to his decision to attend law school was the tutoring of a fourth grader named Ryan from East Los Angeles. “I started law school with the goal of confronting systemic barriers through front-end prevention, impact litigationand policy advocacy so that young people like Ryan and his peers could grow up in a more just and equitable society.”

Brian’s tragic death led to an outpouring of generosity in support of Equal Justice America to honor his memory. “This incredible show of love and support inspired us to pursue this ambitious project in Brian’s name,” Ruben said.

EBCLC’s Executive Director, Tirien Steinbach said “we lost an outstanding champion for young people but Brian’s spirit will live on with this momentous fellowship.”

“We look forward to continuing to honor Brian’s memory,” Ruben said “and to encourage others to follow his example.”